When One Needs Katahdin Sheep Kentucky Should Be The Place To Go Searching

By Marissa Velazquez


When in need of Katahdin sheep Kentucky is an elegant place to check out first. Katahdin refers to a certain species of domestic sheep developed in the 20th century in the United States. The breeding was done by someone called Michael Piel around the year 1956. He imported St. Croix sheep and crossed them with many other breeds. After breeding, he selected the animals according to their fertility, hair coat, flocking instinct, and meat-type conformation.

These species is preferred by many farmers because it has many attractive features. They are hardy and highly adaptable animals that require little maintenance to survive. Their meat is lean while the lamb crops are superior. They do not need shearing because they never produce fleece. They are highly adaptable because they were derived from British Islands, the Caribbean, and the state of Maine as their home of origin.

During cold seasons or in chilly weather, they develop think winter coat. This coat persists during the whole cold season and only sheds off after the weather starts to warm up. The soft hair allows them to survive and tolerate humidity and warmth better. Their ability to withstand external and interior parasites is very great and with good maintenance, they only require minimal parasite treatment.

The hair coat differs among individuals of this strain. The coat might have a single color shade covering the entire body or may have a combination of various colors mixed in diverse ways and patterns. The coat is formed of two layers, an external layer formed of rough hair fiber and an undercoat made of soft wooly fibers. The under-coat sheds gradually as the warm season sets in.

Both the ewes and rams experience early puberty and go through long productive lives. Mature ewes are known for having twins or triplets and occasionally quadruplets. A flock that is selected carefully produces a 200 percent lamb crop. Rams are very aggressive breeders and they remain fertile for the whole year round. During the first exposure to the ewes, they can settle a whole flock within weeks. A well selected ewe lambs the whole year without stopping.

Katahdin ewes show strong protective motherly instincts and need no help when lambing. Freshly born lambs remain alert and vigorous even after seconds of birth. Both females and males could be used for purposes of crossbreeding although the 1st generation usually has wool fleece in many circumstances. Stable purebred properties like ample milk for lambs and shedding hair normally begin revealing in the 3rd generation.

This species of sheep weighs well when in good health condition. The males weigh something between 180 and 250 pounds while females weigh between 120 and 160. The lambs also weigh well at birth with twins weighing averagely at 8 pounds. The weight might however reduce with the number of lambs a mother carries.

When looking for Katahdin sheep Kentucky is a recommendable place to give priority when searching. This is a good species for any farmer because they can survive almost everywhere. There docility makes them easy to handle and the ability to produce multiple lambs is profitable.




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